Wednesday, August 31, 2011

I Didn't Preach Last Sunday ...

... as I had a week off. I did preach the Sunday before, and didn't think it was one of my better efforts. Nonetheless, I share it here.


“God’s Sent a Savior”
Exodus 1:8-2:10; Matthew 16:13-20
August 21, 2011 (21st Sunday in Ordinary Time)
Rev. John B. Erthein


At the end of Genesis, the people of Israel had settled in Egypt, which was, at the time, a place of refuge. The patriarch Joseph had risen to the heights of power, and his wise decisions had made Egypt a place of refuge for his people, who prospered and grew in numbers. But hundreds of years passed between the events at the end of Genesis and the beginning of Exodus. A new dynasty had arisen, one that did not have the same welcoming attitude to foreigners. The rulers of Egypt had become nervous about all of these foreigners in their midst. Indeed, the dynasty under which Joseph and his people had prospered was itself foreign, known as the Hyksos. So after the “native” Egyptians had again taken control, the policy towards the Israelites began to change. Out of fear and resentment, the Egyptian Pharaohs made life more and more difficult for the people of Israel. They feared the growing numbers of Hebrews, and worried that they would be an enemy within in the event of war. Thus, they were treated as serfs, forced to work so hard that they would theoretically become exhausted and not be able to grow further in population. The native Egyptians would also benefit from the labor of the Hebrews.

But these measures did not curb the Hebrews’ population growth. The harsher their treatment, the more they grew. We can detect in this pattern the hand of God. God does not always spare his people from hardship, but nonetheless he exercises his providence over them. The early church grew during periods of persecution. So did the nation of Israel.

In response, the Pharaoh increased the pressure in a truly evil fashion. He decreed that Hebrew midwives must kill male Hebrew children as they were born. This was an incredible order to give to Hebrew midwives, but Pharaoh must have calculated that out of fear of his authority, they would comply. But these midwives feared God more than Pharaoh, and they did not obey his diabolical command. And thus the Hebrew population continued to increase. So finally, Pharaoh gave his most vile command yet: the people of Egypt were called upon directly to kill the newborn male babies by throwing them into the Nile River. It seemed as if the Israelites were now confronted with an impossible situation.

And it was into this terrible reality that Moses was born. He was in grave danger of being discovered and killed. And here is another parallel to the time of Christ, for Jesus himself was in danger as a newborn boy, thanks to Herod’s similarly diabolical order to kill all newborn baby boys. But again, from such fragile beginnings, God makes great things happen. God delivers to his people a great savior.

And so it was with Moses. His mother successfully spared him from harm by hiding him in a basket and trusting that God would guide the current of the Nile. She had to let go of her baby in the hope that he would be alright. And that is a good lesson for us today. There are times when we have to let go of a situation beyond our control, trusting that God has it in hand.
And praise God that he did have Moses in hand. Baby Moses, at the most vulnerable time of his life, was protected from harm. The Egyptian Princess found his basket and rescued the baby. She knew that the baby was a Hebrew, but thank God that she had a more tender heart than Pharaoh. In an extraordinary event of providence, she summoned a Hebrew woman, none other than Moses’ actual mother, to nurse Moses. In that way, not only was Moses’ life spared, but he could grow up in close proximity to his mother. And when the time was right, Moses would become the leader of his people, bringing them out of bondage to freedom.

Jesus came for a similar purpose, but in a much greater way. In the passage from Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus asks his disciples to identify him. First he asks what others say of him (i.e, the general public). Some think he is John the Baptist (come back from the dead). Some say Elijah. Some say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets. One commentator suggests the disciples are being diplomatic and omitting the negative things people had been saying about Jesus, such as being blasphemous or a sinner. In any case, these estimates, even the good ones, were short of the mark. So Jesus asks his disciples who they say he is. And this is the question we all face … who do you say he is? People in the world say many things about Jesus, after all. Some people deny he even lived, in other words he was a made up, purely mythical figure. Other people will admit that he lived, but that he was not the actual Son of God in any unique way (meaning that if he was the Son of God, we are all sons and daughters of God). Some people say he was a teacher, a mystic, perhaps a cynical sage, maybe a revolutionary, perhaps a misguided or mistaken idealist. There are so-called Christians, including church leaders, who believe such things (again, Sadduccees among us). Muslims believe he was a prophet, but certainly not equal to God.

As you ponder who Jesus is, let us consider what his disciples said when asked. It was Simon Peter who responded, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” That was the right answer, of course, and it had been revealed to Peter by God the Father. And so Jesus proclaims that he will build his church upon the faith of Peter, which is like a rock.

Is your answer Peter’s? Do you believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God? Are you a stone in the church of Jesus Christ? Are you part of his body? Do you accept what he offers, which is freedom? Moses offered his people freedom, as well. And doesn’t everyone want freedom?

Of course, to answer that question, one must define what is meant by “freedom?” What does a Savior do for us? Consider what Moses did for his people. He would lead them to freedom. But this was not only a freedom from the oppression of the Egyptians, but the freedom to be the people of God. The Hebrews were not released from captivity to do whatever their sinful selves desired. Instead, they were freed to observe God’s sacred laws, as he handed them down to Moses at Mount Sinai.

So what about does this mean for us? Jesus is our Savior. What does he saves us from? He saves us from the dreadful consequences of our sin and Satan’s power, which oppresses us as the Egyptians oppressed the Hebrews. But if we are set free from the power of sin and evil, for what are we freed? We are not freed to be autonomous and independent. We are not freed to pursue our own momentary desires. We are freed to lead a more meaningful life. We are freed to be the people of God. For indeed, we are fated to serve a Master, but we must consider which Master we will serve. Will it be Satan, or will it be God?

So what is your answer? Will you accept the gift of salvation as offered through Jesus Christ? Do you want to cast off the shackles of sin that are determined to weigh you down and will destroy you if they are not removed? Then turn to our Moses, our great Savior, our great Liberator from captivity, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.

To Jesus Christ, the One who has come to rescue us from sin, guilt, and death, be all glory, honor and praise, now and forever. Amen.


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